Recall: is your dog listening?

Barney and a loose dog

Do you know this feeling, when you call your dog and he/she is not listening or simply ignores you?
I bet you feel as angry, frustrated, frightened or  beaten by your dog as any other dog owner does at some point.
Especially if you are out on a nice and relaxing walk and you cant seem to call back your dog.
This situation can happen to all of us, especially if you didn't practice the recall with your dog yet or if you simply don't have a bond with your furry pal.

Very recently I had to deal with that exact same situation!

What can I do if my dog is not listening (outside)?

Last week I was walking one of the dogs from CSPCA to help getting them a bit of exercise.
I was given a Border Collie boy who seemed a few years old and very nervous.
Border Collie's are great working dogs, they are often very smart and need a lot of exercise to get rid of their energy.
As this boy is currently in a kennel, he probably doesn't get much exercise or any mental stimulation.
Prepared to have a pulling dog on the leash, I went off with him to brighten up his day a little.
Luckily I always choose a route aside off the busy main road and walk the dogs in a nearby green area.
This poor boy was pulling so much (and was so excited about the walk), that his collar broke.
Suddenly this dog was loose and was running away from me! My first thought was:

"OH MY GOD, I'm after loosing this dog!!"

Not knowing the dog, I tried to do the best possible, to catch him.

I noticed earlier already, that he is not responding to any kind of calling or treat-distraction. He simply wanted to go out and run. A very understandable reaction after being in a kennel for some time.

So, how can we communicate to a dog, to come back to us?

First of all: Try absolutely everything you've got!

Let's start with our voice:

If the dog is not listening to his/her name, simply try to sound as happy and welcoming as you can. You might find this stupid, but to speak in a "baby-voice" can often help.
We want to invite the dog to come to us, and with being very nice and all sweet, we have a good chance!
Also: Use your body language.
Dog's are fantastic body-language reader and use them between themselves to communicate.
Make yourself small by cowering down and open up your arms, like you would like to give someone a hug.
With this open-arm gesture you basically invite the dog to you.
Also try to make a round appearance to invite the dog into your arms again.
Additionally you can keep using your voice to make yourself interesting.
If the dog is running towards you, keep being super friendly and encouraging!
When he reaches you, you can finally catch the dog, but be sure to still be nice and praise him for coming (instead of being mad because he wasn't listening in the first place).

If your "invitation" didnt work and the dog keeps running away and ignoring you (because the smells and other dogs are sooooooooo much more interesting!!), try to get his attention by simply walking away.
Turn your back on him and walk the opposite direction. Call him as well to let him know what you do.
Please make sure first, that the loose dog is not in a dangerous situation while walking away from him!
Whilst walking away you might cant see what he is doing all the time, so please make sure nothing can happen to the dog or yourself.

When you are walking away from the dog, still use your voice and make it look like, like you have lots of fun!
You can also jump "away" to show the dog how much fun it is to run into the other direction now (and back towards you).

And again: If the dogs follows you and even comes back to you, praise him a lot for coming back!
Most importantly is: Try to stay cool and relaxed while calling the dog back!
Never panic or scream at the dog, this probably will drive him away from you.

To be sure to never experience such a situation, practice the recall inside first, then in an enclosed area, on a long extended leash, and make sure your friend is listening to you.
Safety comes first!

Also think about using a name tag with your phone-number and address on the dogs collar in case the dog gets lost.
(I assume the dog is micro-chipped already) ;)

In my case last week, I was able to invite the dog with my body language and baby voice. He came back to see what I was doing, and after I put the leash back on him, we continued to go for a nice walk whilst the sun was shining.

In case you would like to practice the recall with my help and some guidance, let me know and I will be more than happy to assist! :)


Cornelia x